Why I'm Not Working in a Bakery

Recently we celebrated my new husband's 33rd birthday. Being the thoughtful and hungry wife that I am, I decided to bake him a birthday cake from scratch. My first hurdle was the realization that we do not own a cake pan. How is this possible considering we had literally 7 pages of kitchen registry items from bed, bath and beyond? I'm not quite sure. Nobody thought to mention this gaping hole in my Martha Stewart training kit?

I did not allow this to ruin my mission. Since I am both a creative and crafty cook-in-training, I remembered that we did receive a very fun red muffin tray. Obviously, cupcakes were the route to take.

After one frustrating experience and a sinful sundae from outback later, I’ve come away with 2 lessons. First, there is a difference between "self-rising" and "all purpose" flour. Second, when the recipe suggests filling the muffin tins half-way, that is probably a good idea.